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For Water Quality, Just Think SpongeBy Lois B. Robbins Of the many reasons for conserving land, one that is often overlooked is water quality. As land is developed, roads are paved, blacktop driveways and rooftops show up, and lawns replace what was formerly a spongy, well-vegetated landscape. Now rainwater, which used to be absorbed into the ground, flows along the surface instead. Even our lawns, with their shallow roots, sit like carpeting on well-compacted soil that can’t absorb much moisture. Surfaces that cannot absorb stormwater are said to be impervious. Stormwater cannot be absorbed into the ground fast enough in developed areas where there are a lot of impervious surfaces. It rolls down our rooftops, across our lawns, along driveways and down roads, gathering up petrochemicals, fertilizers and pesticides as it rolls. These are carried directly into our creeks, our rivers, our lakes and our wetlands where they can harm aquatic life. Ultimately, these pollutants will reach the recharge areas for our wells, where they can pollute our drinking water as well. The Environmental Division of Oakland County’s Planning and Economic Development Services has been conducting studies of imperviousness in North Oakland County watersheds, where there is open space still to be developed and conserved. These studies show that according to future land use plans, imperviousness in the Stony Creek sub-watershed can be expected to increase from 8% in 2000 to 12% once all of the land has been developed. The Upper Clinton sub-watershed will likely increase from approximately 17% imperviousness in 2000 to close to 23% at buildout. This information is especially important to people who live in North Oakland County, where wells predominate. If we expect to keep our water clean for wildlife and to protect our own drinking water we will need to pay attention to what is entering the water table from our roofs, our roads and driveways, and our lawns. Property owners can help diminish these sources of pollution, - by reducing or eliminating our lawns; by reducing or eliminating our use of fertilizer and pesticides; and by proper disposal of household hazardous waste. These are just a few examples of what property owners can do. There are other ways land-owners can help too. As long as development continues, as it surely will, impervious surfaces will continue to increase. However, some of the predicted imperviousness can be offset by land that is protected, either by land donations to conservancies, or through conservation easements. These properties will be kept in their natural state, where the soil is conditioned by the deep roots of the vegetation still growing there. These are places where the soil remains spongy and can absorb stormwater before it has a chance to enter a waterway, a lake or a wetland. People who conserve their land or take steps to reduce pollution on their property are good ancestors, doing their part to protect the quality of our water in North Oakland County, for ourselves and for generations to come.
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